This time of year the pods and the chaff are out there drying on your plants after the years first frosts. Collecting them can be a boon to your next years crop. If you ate all your runner beans then I suppose you will have to buy more for seed. It is wise to avoid this, if you eat your seed you will certainly starve to death. Saving seeds from your garden year after year can enhance the genetics of the species and by virtue of natural selection adapt the plant to your climate.
What about harder to retrieve seeds like those of tomatoes?
There are a few ways to extract seeds from a tomato. One way is to squeeze them in a jar and wait a few days for the tomato to ferment which loosens the seed from the flesh. Shake the jar as needed and add water. Pour off the water until you reach the viable seeds which will have sank to the bottom. Repeat as necessary. I find it is easier to scrape the seeds from the pulp with a knife, then you may eat the rest. Wash and strain a few times will help to remove residue that may grow mold if left.
place these seeds in the open, with dry not overly hot or cold conditions. It is not advisable to place seeds on paper towel because they will definitely stick to it. I have started seeds in paper towels before, I find that there is a chance they will either become too saturated or become moldy. A young root may not have the power to break through the paper, if you plant the paper towl with the seed there is a chance for success.
Once your seeds have dried a paper bag makes a nice breathable place for larger seeds. You might keep seeds in a envelope, and if you are sure they have dried sufficiently a glass jar or an old medicine bottle. I have found surface mold on seeds that were not dry enough. Taking them out of the container and drying them some more should save the seeds from total destruction. Historically people have used dried out gourds and earthen bowls as a place for storing seeds. Both breath well and are dark.
Don't forget to label your seeds, name and date should suffice. Even if you have great skills at determining one seed from another labeling is important. It is near impossible to tell a variety of the same species from another, let alone how old they are. Seeds that have been stored for too long may become nonviable. I only bother with the year, omitting the month and day, so that at a glance seeds that are getting older can be used accordingly. I have found at seed swaps some people like to add the location that seeds were collected and the name of the gardener. Each plant variety has particular preferences that a small climatic shift can disrupt. Even if the plants came from the other side of the world if the climate is similar yours, you may find that the plant is well adapted. No two climate zones are truly the same.It is customary to collect seeds from the years finest fruit in an attempt to extend their genetic line.
If the plant can propagate its self then what is all this seed saving for? Farmers and gardeners like to have some control over when their plants will germinate mature and finally crop. If you have the space (perhaps a greenhouse) and time for growing seedlings out then by all means. Plants have survived on their own for all of time and can, on most occasions, get the timing right, but only if they are adapted to their surroundings. Collecting the seed comes in handy then when you want to sow for new plots or give a little protection from winter freeze and thaw. Seeds can survive a long time in the right conditions. In fact the oldest seeds ever germinated were some 2,000 years old, found in an Egyptian tomb.
When I find a seed I save it.
Seed Swap Links
http://www.gardenpassion.net/
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/
http://thetomatogarden.proboards.com/
http://forums.seedsavers.org
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exchind/
http://www.blossomswap.com/
What about harder to retrieve seeds like those of tomatoes?
There are a few ways to extract seeds from a tomato. One way is to squeeze them in a jar and wait a few days for the tomato to ferment which loosens the seed from the flesh. Shake the jar as needed and add water. Pour off the water until you reach the viable seeds which will have sank to the bottom. Repeat as necessary. I find it is easier to scrape the seeds from the pulp with a knife, then you may eat the rest. Wash and strain a few times will help to remove residue that may grow mold if left.
place these seeds in the open, with dry not overly hot or cold conditions. It is not advisable to place seeds on paper towel because they will definitely stick to it. I have started seeds in paper towels before, I find that there is a chance they will either become too saturated or become moldy. A young root may not have the power to break through the paper, if you plant the paper towl with the seed there is a chance for success.
Once your seeds have dried a paper bag makes a nice breathable place for larger seeds. You might keep seeds in a envelope, and if you are sure they have dried sufficiently a glass jar or an old medicine bottle. I have found surface mold on seeds that were not dry enough. Taking them out of the container and drying them some more should save the seeds from total destruction. Historically people have used dried out gourds and earthen bowls as a place for storing seeds. Both breath well and are dark.
 |
| wet uncured seeds will rot in plastic |
Don't forget to label your seeds, name and date should suffice. Even if you have great skills at determining one seed from another labeling is important. It is near impossible to tell a variety of the same species from another, let alone how old they are. Seeds that have been stored for too long may become nonviable. I only bother with the year, omitting the month and day, so that at a glance seeds that are getting older can be used accordingly. I have found at seed swaps some people like to add the location that seeds were collected and the name of the gardener. Each plant variety has particular preferences that a small climatic shift can disrupt. Even if the plants came from the other side of the world if the climate is similar yours, you may find that the plant is well adapted. No two climate zones are truly the same.It is customary to collect seeds from the years finest fruit in an attempt to extend their genetic line.
 |
| some old seed packet designs 80's and 90's |
If the plant can propagate its self then what is all this seed saving for? Farmers and gardeners like to have some control over when their plants will germinate mature and finally crop. If you have the space (perhaps a greenhouse) and time for growing seedlings out then by all means. Plants have survived on their own for all of time and can, on most occasions, get the timing right, but only if they are adapted to their surroundings. Collecting the seed comes in handy then when you want to sow for new plots or give a little protection from winter freeze and thaw. Seeds can survive a long time in the right conditions. In fact the oldest seeds ever germinated were some 2,000 years old, found in an Egyptian tomb.
 |
| garlic cloves or "seed garlic" is actually vegetative reproduction |
When I find a seed I save it.
Seed Swap Links
http://www.gardenpassion.net/
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/
http://thetomatogarden.proboards.com/
http://forums.seedsavers.org
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exchind/
http://www.blossomswap.com/
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